As soon as we left the lounge car, Rapunzel rubbed her shoulder and took in a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?” I asked out of concern.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” She heaved a sigh. “I might just be acting paranoid…”

The train shook, and with a heavy groan, the locomotive began to slow down.

“No way, are we stopping again??”

“Maybe there’s another inspection?” I answered in a wry voice.

“Surely you jest…”

Just then, Conductor Machel emerged from the vestibule on the other end of the aisle. He noticed us and tipped his hat in greeting.

“Bonsoir, Mesdemoiselles, we’ll be stopping at Épernay shortly. How was your dinner?”

“No complaints from me! The chicken meat was super tender, and it was a fulfilling meal all round,” Rapunzel praised. “If you have the chance to, please send my compliments to the chef.”

“Same here,” I agreed.

“Iʼll do that,” Machel replied, nodding his head in a half-bow. “Then, if you will excuse me.”

“Ah, wait a moment please,” I said, suddenly remembering a detail that he mentioned in his announcement earlier. “You said that we are behind schedule because of the unplanned stop, didnʼt you? Are you able to share the new schedule with us?”

“About that, Mademoiselle has no need to fret over it,” he said in a reassuring voice. “We have already made the necessary arrangements to ensure that we can keep to our planned schedule as fast as possible.”

He took out his pocket watch and flipped it open to check the time. “By my estimates, the Orient Express should return to its timetable when we reach Lunéville at about 12.44 AM.”

“That means we will reach Strasbourg at 3.36 AM as scheduled, correct?”

Machel glanced up from his pocket watch. “Yes, that is the case.”

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‘Looks like the rest of the first level is progressing normally…’

After saying my thanks, we exchanged goodbyes and Conductor Machel made his way to the adjacent lounge car.

“Violet, why are you interested in Straßburg all of a sudden?” Rapunzel asked in a bemused whisper. “Are you expecting something special to happen there?”

I shot her a surprised glance.

‘Weird, should a NPC be asking such a rhetorical question?’

Shrugging my shoulders, I mumbled an excuse along the lines of ‘being curious’.

“Anyway, shouldnʼt you be more concerned about where you will be staying tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, Nikata clearly booked the compartment solely for himself, so if you just barge in…”

“Wait, I’m sleeping in his compartment?!”

“You…” I sighed a resigned sigh as I unlocked my compartment door. “You planned this all along, didn’t you?”

“Tehe~”

She entered first and gave me a coquettish smile. “I’m gonna go take a shower first, you can come in too if you like.”

“I’m going out to have some fresh air,” I said without hesitation.

“Aw, what a pity.”

“Get going already.” I shut the door in her face.

The wind whistled in my ears as soon as I unlatched the carriage door and descended onto the rickety platform. Old, splintered wooden floorboards creaked noisily under my shoes as I trekked in the near-darkness.

‘It’s starting to drizzle…’

The rain was cold enough to make me draw near to the hot engine steam billowing from the locomotive’s vents. A waiting shelter stood at the end of the platform, its thin timber walls barely keeping the gale out.

Under the dim glow of kerosene lamps hanging from the eaves, a man was already smoking a cigarette. His hunched-up position, coupled with the wrinkles on his face and unkempt grey hair, made him look like a grumpy old turtle.

Incidentally, in the game, it was physically impossible for the player to exit the train at any point during their playthrough. The developers simply did not code in such an open-world function.

Hence, I had no idea what to expect when the man noticed my presence and snapped his head up to face me.

“You must be…” he spoke in a sneer. “The famous detective, Violet Guinevere?”

“You know me?”

“Who doesn’t?” He shifted to the side to make some space for me. “Your face has appeared in the newspapers many times, so I recognised you right away.”

“And you are…” I stepped into the shelter and studied his face in the faint gaslight: a prominent aquiline nose, well-groomed goatee, arched eyebrows and dark, piercing eyes that screamed “I’m evil!” to the beholder.

No doubt, this man was the character that was voted the ‘Most likely Passenger to be Killed” by the EotE community in their speculations for the game’s second level.

“Reinald Beaufore, is it?”

『Room No. 7』

【Single】M. Reinald Beaufore, the Connoisseur